Global shipbuilding continued to see a precipitous decline in its fortunes in February after exports from China, Japan and South Korea fell 33.1% year over year to $3.40 billion. That made for the worst month of February since at least 2008 even though there was a turnaround in fortunes for Japanese shipyards including Mitsui E&S and Namura Shipbuilding. The outlook may not improve in the near term with shipping firms preoccupied with short-term investments to meet environmental regulations as well as a decline in container rates to lows not seen since Jul. 27.